An electric compressor of a vehicle air conditioner is connected to power cables (i.e., a harness) that supply power from a power source, such as a battery, installed in a vehicle to an electric motor of the electric compressor. Since a large electric current flows through this harness, cables having a relatively large diameter and insulation-coated with corrugated tubes, etc. are used. The cables used are two positive and negative cables that are bound together, and because each cable may sometimes be thick, with an outside diameter on the order of ten millimeters, in some cases the cable cannot maintain a bent shape by itself due to a springback effect.
The aforementioned electric compressor for a vehicle is usually disposed inside an engine compartment which generally has no extra space, and it is thus practically difficult to route the harness, which is thick as mentioned above, in a straight line without causing it to interfere with other components. Thus, by attaching a protector to the harness to forcedly maintain the harness in a predetermined bent shape or in a folded shape by the intervention of the protector, the harness can conceivably be routed without interfering with other components within a small limited space.
As a protector used for routing a harness, Patent Document 1 discusses a type in which protector plates having one end curved in opposite directions from each other are hinged to each other, and each of the curved sections is provided with a holding portion having a wedge-shaped slit. The harness is routed by being inserted through the holding portions, thereby alleviating stress produced when the harness is bent. Patent Document 2 discusses a harness routing structure constituted by a harness holding member, which has a rectangular tubular shape in cross section and is curved into an arc shape, holds a wire harness by inserting the wire harness therethrough, and is rotatable about one end thereof, as well as a casing, which accommodates the harness holding member in an insertable/ejectable manner and pivotably supports the wire harness extending out from the other end of the harness holding member. The harness routing structure can allow for smooth two-dimensional movement of a sliding structure and can also allow for placement within a smaller amount of space. Patent Document 3 discusses a cable-folding holder equipped with a base plate having a reference folding line at an outer peripheral edge thereof and having flat cables placed respectively on the top surface and the bottom surface of the base plate, holding segments provided on the top surface and the bottom surface of the base plate so as to hold the flat cables so that they extend along the top surface and the bottom surface, and restraining portions that are provided on the base plate so as to restrain the flat cables held by the holding segments to prevent the flat cables from springing back towards the outside.
Patent Document 1:
    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. Hei 10-6881Patent Document 2:    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2004-64815Patent Document 3:    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2007-109497